Hadrat Sayyiduna Abdur Rahman bin Abdullah Khuzaa’i – may Allah be pleased with him – narrates, “One day, the supreme leader of his era, namely Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him, was travelling past a certain area and he noticed a certain group of people living in that area who did not seem to have any wealth or possession. They had many graves surrounding them which they opened and every morning and they used to visit these graves. After cleaning the area around the graves, they performed their Ibadah in that area. This was a daily ritual of theirs.

Their food was ordinary grass and leaves which grew around the area. They drank the water which they found flowing in nearby streams. Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – then asked one of his advisers to inform the leader of this group that he wanted to meet him. However, when the leader of this group received this invite, he remarked, “What is the reason that we should meet him?”

The adviser then informed Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain that the group leader was not prepared to meet him. Finally, Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain went to meet the leader of this group of simple people.

Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – asked the leader, “What is the reason that I see you people in such a poor and simple state and I have never seen other people in this state before?”

The leader asked him to describe their state. Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – replied that he could see that they owned nothing and were not even prepared to dig for gold or silver or other valuables found in the earth.

The leader replied, “We have a deep dislike for worldly objects or wealth. Whenever a person acquires these things, then his Nafs becomes even greedier. Eventually a person begins to desire even more.”

Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – then asked him about their daily behaviour of visiting the graves which surrounded them.

He replied, “When we look at these graves, we are able learn a lesson from them. When we look at these graves, our long hopes and desires also vanish.”

Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – then asked them about eating simple grass and leaves. He asked them why they did not have animals which they could rear and in this manner, they would be able to get meat and milk.

The leader replied, “We are not people who allow our stomachs to become the grave of these items. We have seen the grass and leaves and have decided to make this our food. Tasty food is also something which is experienced by the tip of the tongue and nothing else. When it enters the stomach, all taste and enjoyment disappears.”

He then took a skull from one of the graves and pointing at this skull, he asked Hadrat Sayyiduna Zul Qarnain – may Allah be pleased with him – whether he knew who this person was. He explained, “This is also the skull of one of the famous Kings of his time. However, he used to oppress people. Today, his dried skull is the only object which is found and nothing else. No one even remembers him any longer. As for his actions, on the Day of Judgement, he will have to face the consequences of this”.